Golf club carrier



Nov. 4, 1958 A. c. WALLACE 8,

GOLF CLUB CARRIER Filed March 15, 1955 Jmaentor Alemnder C. WzZZacettornegs GOLF CLUB CARRIER Alexander C. Wallace, Salt Lake City, UtahApplication March 15, 1955, Serial No. 502,555

4 Claims. Cl. 150-15 This invention relates to carriers for golf clubs,and particularly to those intended for use in place of conventional golfbags.

Golf bags have several disadvantages. For example, they are clumsy tocarry, and, as ordinarily constructed, they add considerably to the loadimposed by the golf clubs themselves. Furthermore, because economicfactors of modern life have largely eliminated caddying as anoccupation, golfers have for the most part been left on their own.

Golf bags are particularly inconvenient to handle during the many timesthat a club must be taken out and the bag put down for the actualplaying of the game.

The bag is normally laid on the course while a club is being used, andmust be picked up again following the play. This means that the playeris constantly called upon to stoop down or bend over, which adds muchstrenuous and largely unrewarding activity to the game.

While it has heretofore been proposed to equip a golf bag with a spikeat its bottom, so that the bag may he stood upright during play toeliminate the need for bending over to put it down and pick it up, andwhile several elforts have been made to develop a relatively light andeconomical carrierv as a substitute for the conventional golf bag, Ihave found all of these to be either completely impractical or lackingin satisfaction.

The currently popular golf cart has gone far toward solving the problemsconfronting golfers, but is not an ideal solution. It is bulky, and isdifiicult to store and to transport from place to place. It requiresmore effort to maneuver around the golf course than is desirable,especially over hilly terrain. It adds much extra weight to a golfersequipment, and represents an item of considerable expense.

As a golfer, I have given much thought to the development of alightweight and relatively inexpensive carrier that can be comfortablycarried and conveniently handled by both men and women; that can beeasily stood upright in and of itself during play from hole to holethroughout the course of the game; that will eliminate the need foreither a golf bag or cart; that will be inconspicuous during use; andthat can be placed in a locker or other restricted storage space, alongwith the clubs, as conveniently as can the ordinary bag.

I have now constructed a carrier satisfying all of these requirements.

A feature of my invention resides in the provision of a shaft, taperedand pointed at one end for pressing into the turf, and at least two golfclub receiving rings secured to the shaft in mutually spacedrelationship along its length. Both rings are offset relative to theshaft, so as to leave their openings free to receive the handles of golfclubs. The upper ring is rigidly fixed in position, but the lower ringis free to swing about the shaft as an axis.

Accordingly, when the golf clubs are positioned in the rings with theirrelatively heavy heads at the pointed end of the carrier shaft, and suchshaft is pressed into the A United States Patent ground in uprightposition, the clubs fan out and largely support themselves in theupright position established by the carrier.

Additional objects and features of the invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description of the preferred specificconstructions illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 represents a view of a golfer carrying his golf clubs in acarrier conforming to and typical of the invention, such carrier and thegolf clubs being shown in side elevation;

Fig. 2, an elevation of the carrier and golf clubs of Fig. 1 inself-standing position, being typical of the manner in which they arepositioned during use of a golf club;

Fig. 3, a perspective view of the carrier per se, drawn to an enlargedscale;

Fig. 4, a transverse section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1 and drawn toapproximately the scale of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5, a fragmentary view corresponding to the left- I hand portion ofFig. 3, but illustrating a different construction for the movable ring;and

Fig. 6, a fragmentary view partly in horizontal section taken on theline 66 of Fig. 5, but drawn to an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawing:

As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the carrier comprises an elongate shaft10, having one end pointed and preferably attenuated, as at 11, forinsertion in the ground, and having its opposite end formed as a handle12 to facilitate pressing of the pointed end into turf and other typesof ground characteristic of golf courses.

Secured to the shaft 10 intermediate its length. are two rings 13 and 14for receiving golf clubs. Such rings are attached to the shaft at theirrespective peripheries, so as to extend laterally of the shaft inoffset, golf club receiving fashion, the mode of attachment being asfound suitable considering the material used and general styling of thecarrier. In the form illustrated, where the shaft 10 conforms to that ofa conventional golf club, such rings are attached by means of ananchoring application of an adherent material 15 such as metal, plastic,or a wrapping tape. They are mutually spaced apart along the length ofthe shaft, inwardly of the pointed portion 11 and of the handle portion12.

That ring which lies adjacent the pointed end portion 11 of the shaft10, namely, the ring 13, is movable in the sense of being swingableabout the shaft axis, so as to enable the heavy lower ends of thereceived golf clubs to fan out in'a natural, largely self-supportingposition (see Fig. 2) when the carrier is inserted in an uprightposition with respect to the ground. In the present embodiment, theswingable character of fixedly anchored ring 13 is imparted by the factthat such ring is flexible in character. As shown, the ring 13 is formedfrom a length of a webbed fabric strap looped upon itself and fastenedin looped position by a rivet 16. It is freely flexible and yieldsreadily to applied forces. Thus, it swings about the shaft axis in awrapping action.

The other ring disposed adjacent the handle portion 12, namely, the ring14, is rigid in its position relative to the shaft. It is preferablyformed from strap metal, and maintains its given offset position withrespect to the shaft 10 throughout all use of the carrier. As such, itenables the user of the carrier to quickly and easily insert the golfclubs, preferably one by one and handlewise, commencing at the movablering 13.

The carrier may be held in any desired position-dur ing the insertion ofthe clubs. A convenient method is to grasp the shaft 10 between the tworings 13 and 14 with one hand, and to hold the carrier horizontally withthe easily, even though the ring 13 is freely flexible.

rings extending downwardly, as in Fig. 3, while successively insertingthe individual clubs with the other hand, the club handles beingdirected through the two rings from the pointed end of the carrier. Asmentioned above, the rigid character of the ring 14 enables the clubs tobe inserted in the carrier quickly and It should also be noted that bothrings are formed independently of the handle 12 and are of predeterminedloop character in the sense that they are not of slipknot characterdependent for size upon a handle strap connected thereto, as in theinstance of certain known golf club carriers.

If desired, additional rings may be provided, but the two rings areordinarily all that is required; additional rings would be anencumbrance.

The carrier with golf clubs inserted, as illustrated in Fig. 3 where theclubs are collectively indicated 17, may 'be carried in various ways,depending upon the whim of the user at any particular time. The methodshown in Fig. l is very handy particularly for men having hands largeenough to encircle the entire group of golf club shafts along with thecarrier shaft Ill. This is facilitated by the special formation of therigid ring 14, as shown in Fig. 4. Such ring 14 is of a general ovalshape, converging in approximately V-formation toward and adjacent itsattachment to the shaft, as indicated at 14a. Thus, the shafts of theseveral golf clubs 17 are constrained to come together into a compactbundle (see Fig. 4) when grasped together with the shaft 10 in themanner shown in Fig. l.

The group of clubs and the carrier are easily balanced in the carryingposition of Fig. 1 by sliding the hand backwardly or forwardly betweenthe two rings 13 and 14 until the point of balance is achieved.

Other handy ways of carrying the carrier with its received clubs are notillustrated, but may be readily visualizedf For example, a woman or aman with small hands may wish to gras merely the shaft 10 when carryingin accordance with Fig. 1. Again, golfers may wish to sling the carrierand contained clubs over a shoulder, with handles in front as aconvenient hand or arm hold.

It is not necessary that the lower and movable ring be a flexible strap,as is 13 in the foregoing embodiment, although that is a simple andeconomical way of constructing the carrier. In the carrier of Figs. and6, the lower and movable ring 20 is rigid, as is the upper ring 14 ofthe foregoing embodiment. It derives its movable character from the factthat it is swiveled in its attachment to the shaft 21.

As illustrated, the shaft 21 is provided with a journal 21a, whichreceives a bearing portion 20a of the rigid rin 20. Thus, the ring 20swivels about the shaft 21 as an axis, and accomplishes the same resultin the use of the carrier as does the flexible ring 13 in Fig. 2.

It is desirable that the lower and movable ring offer.

frictional resistance to the golf clubs, so as to stabilize the latterspositions within the carrier at various times during handling. This istaken care of by the inherent roughness of the strap 13 of the carrierof Figs. 1-4. In the embodiment of Figs. 5 and 6, however, roughnessmust be imparted to the rigid ring 20, which is usually of smooth strapmetal. It is preferred that a layer 23 of sponge rubber or the like hecemented or otherwise secured to the inner surface of such ring 20.

Whereas this invention is here illustrated and described with respect tocertain preferred forms thereof, it should be realized that otherdesirable forms may be constructed on the basis of the teachings hereofwithout departing from the scope of the claims which here follow.

I claim:

1. A golf club carrier, comprising a shaft having one end pointed forinsertion in the ground and the opposite end portion formed as arectilinear handle; and two rings secured at their peripheries to theshaft in mutually spaced relationship along the length of the shaft andspaced inwardly from the respective ends thereof, one of said ringslying closely adjacent the said pointed end of the shaft and beingswingable about the axis of the shaft, and the other ring being rigidand fixed in its position, both of the rings being formed independentlyof the said handle and being of predetermined loop character.

2. A golf club carrier as in claim 1, wherein the swingable ring is offlexible strap formation and fixedly anchored to the shaft, theswingable nature of said ring being due to the flexibility thereof.

3. A golf club carrier as in claim 1, wherein the movable ring isswiveled in its mounting on the shaft.

4. A golf club carrier as in claim 1, wherein the handle end of theshaft simulates the handle formation of a golf club.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS DuffyAug. 30,1955

